West Midlands Combined Authority and partners are committed to maintaining customer privacy and maintaining the security of any personal data we receive from you, if any. We are committed to responsible data management and subscribe to the principles of data protection legislation in the United Kingdom.
Visitors may be asked to enter basic personal information. This information on our database is not available for sale and use by third parties, beyond the essential requirement for credit card validation during purchase. The information is used solely for our billing and payment purposes, and notifying customers of future updates to our products or services. Information may be stored manually / electronically. Personal information collected via the website will be processed in accordance with, and will comply with, the Data Protection Act 1998.
The website will automatically track certain information such as your IP address and browser identification in the course of your use of the website. This information is used only for system administration and for providing statistics to evaluate use of this site.
Information about West Midlands Combined Authority’s use of cookies
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This information helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and it also allows us to improve our website accordingly.
Where you have made an enquiry/complaint about a service or facility not directly operated by WMCA we may share your information with other organisations. We will only do this if we consider it necessary to fully respond to the enquiry/complaint that you have made. In doing so we will contact you to tell you that your information has been passed on and that the appropriate company may contact you directly regarding the comments you have made. We may tell you this verbally if your enquiry is made by telephone.
Cookies are small data files which most website operators place on browser settings or hard drives of their user's device, including computer or mobile devices (to include phones or tablet devices). Cookies may gather information about the user's use of the website or enable the website to recognise the user as an existing customer when they return to the website at a later date.
How does West Midlands Combined Authority use cookies?
During the course of any visit to West Midlands Combined Authority's website, the pages you see, along with a cookie, are downloaded onto your device. Some of the cookies are necessary for the functionality of the website and they are deleted from your device once you close your browser.
West Midlands Combined Authority also uses "analytical" cookies. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below:
Please note that during your visits to West Midlands Combined Authority’s website you may notice some cookies that are not related to West Midlands Combined Authority. When you visit a page with content embedded from, for example, YouTube or Twitter, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. West Midlands Combined Authority does not control the dissemination of these cookies. You should check the third party websites for more information about these.
The search engine on our website is designed to be as powerful and easy to use as the popular search engine Google. The search is made possible by a piece of hardware (a search “appliance”) supplied by Google that is plugged into our server and continuously indexes the content on our site. All search requests are handled by the appliance and the information is not passed on to any third party, including Google.
West Midlands Combined Authority will not use cookies to collect personal identifiable information about you and we recommend that you allow the use of cookies. However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set on the West Midlands Combined Authority website, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The Help function within your browser should tell you how.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
For more information about "cookies" and how to reject them, please see the Interactive Advertising Bureau's website: http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
The world is facing many environmental challenges including climate change, resource depletion and pollution. As a consequence the Government has set targets to move the UK to a low carbon future and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that we have a shared responsibility to support these global challenges, national aspirations and to help to create a sustainable future in our role as the region’s Combined Authority.
Our environmental strategy is based on the concept of sustainable development and continual improvement. It sets out our objectives and approach to minimising the carbon impact of WMCA operations and our commitment to working with partners to facilitate sustainable public transport growth.
We are in a perfect position to assist with the transformation change needed to strengthen and create opportunities in the region that will meet the needs and aspirations of local communities, our stakeholders and the needs of the environment. This means we are fully committed to action, including a commitment to sustainable travel by our staff, and supporting organisations across the region to implement Travel Plans.
See our Environmental Policy and Environmental Strategy 2014-19
Our Equalities Vision
Our Equality and Diversity Vision is integral to our overall vision of improving the quality of life of everyone who lives and works in the West Midlands and is embedded in our values, strategic aims, policies and day to day activities.
We put equality and diversity at the heart of the business. We value the diversity of our customers, staff, suppliers, partners and all the people we work with and are committed to treating everyone fairly and achieving equal outcomes for all.
We strive to creative a positive working environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and provide services and implement strategies that meet the diverse needs of people in the West Midlands.
We will:
See our Equality Scheme 2017-19 and Equality and Inclusion Review
West Midlands Combined Authority Complaints Handling Procedure
Complaints are dealt in accordance with our Complaints Handling Procedure, as detailed below.
Who we are
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is comprised of 18 local authorities and four Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) working together to move powers from Whitehall to the West Midlands and our locally elected politicians, who know this region best.
Our Complaints Handling Procedure explains what you can expect from us if you need to make a complaint.
What happens if something goes wrong
You can contact the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in a number of ways. This includes by phone, email, online or by post. Please visit our Contact us page for more details.
If your complaint is regarding travel, please visit the Network West Midlands website and your complaint will be handled by our Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) team.
If your complaint is regarding general council services, please contact your local council teams.
What you can expect from us
If you raise a complaint with a member of our staff, they will do all they can to resolve the problem straight away. However, we will tell you if this is not possible. We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days, however some investigations may take longer as we may need to liaise with third parties. We will acknowledge your complaint and keep you updated on our progress until the case is resolved.
To help us with our investigation, we ask that you include as much information in your complaint as possible, for example;
• Your contact details;
• Date, time and location (if applicable);
• Detail of your complaint; and
• Any other relevant information that you can provide.
Complaints relating to third parties
If you make a complaint which relates to a third party supplier, we will work with the provider to investigate thoroughly the details of your complaint and co-ordinate a response accordingly. This will involve us sharing your information with the third party. Depending on the nature of the complaint, we may pass this on directly to the third party, where it will be managed in accordance with their own complaints handling procedure. Please see our Privacy Policy for more details.
What happens if you are still not happy
If you are not happy with the way we have resolved your complaint, you can ask for this to be reviewed or escalated to our Customer Services Team Leader. In the unlikely event you are not happy with that outcome, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed or escalated to our Customer Relations Manager for a final review and response.
Local Government Ombudsman
You can contact the Local Government Ombudsman at any time about your complaint. However, the Ombudsman usually gives the Combined Authority the opportunity to investigate first.
Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 OEH
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Text: 'call back' to 0762 481 1595
Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm (except public holidays)
Website: www.lgo.org.uk